Hugh Fitzgerald: Schengenland And Its Discontents

After World War II, under the leadership of the French statesmen Jean Monnet and others, European governments were determined to find ways to bind their countries together in ways that might prevent the 20th century catastrophes from being repeated. Their first effort, not unnaturally, was to create in 1951 the European Coal and Steel Community, as a way to bind the economies of the two historic enemies, France and Germany. That effort was enlarged, both in number of members – in addition to France and Germany, Italy and the Benelux countries were added – and in the scope of the economic activities that were regulated, in 1958, with the European Economic Community. Over time this was enlarged, in both size and scope, and metamorphosed in 1995 into the European Union. The E.U. now has a total of 28 members (including some in eastern Europe from the former Soviet bloc) and is a politico-economic union for which various supranational institutions have been created: the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council of the European Union, the European Commission, the European Central Bank among them. And what had started in 1951 as the Coal and Steel Community linking only France and Germany now has become a single market, with more than two dozen countries as members, and with standardised laws to regulate that market. Common policies on agriculture, fisheries, trade, have been adopted, and a single unit of currency — the euro — introduced as legal tender (in 19 of the 28 member states) in 1999.

Based on a recognition that the peoples of Europe constituted a single civilization, those who created these supra-national institutions and rules were aiming not only for the unhindered movement of goods, services, and capital, but also wanted to encourage the free movement of people within Europe. They wanted Europeans to be able to move around the Continent, to study, work, live anywhere within Europe. This ambitious last aim began to be met with the agreement signed at Schengen, initially by five members of the E.U,. in 1985, with many more joining subsequently. According to this agreement, border checks among the signatories would be gradually abolished. In 1990, the Schengen Agreement was revised further, and with many more members of the E.U. now as signatories, now also included both the abolition of internal border controls and a common visa policy. For the purposes of travel, external border controls were to be retained only for those people entering or exiting the Schengen area; there were no longer any controls on travel purely inside that area.

In 1985, or 1990, or even 1995, no one could have guessed the terrible problem that would arise quite soon, with Muslim migrants making their way to Europe by the hundreds of thousands and exploiting the Schengen system so that, once they had managed to smuggle themselves into Schengenland at some particularly vulnerable ill-guarded point – and Greece and Italy have both been accused by other European countries of having insufficient border controls — they could then move about Europe unimpeded, aiming to settle in the countries that offered the best benefits. This result is not at all what the Europeans who drafted the original Schengen Agreement had in mind. They thought they were merely making it easier for people from one European country to travel to, live in, study and work in, another European country. The very idea that in a decade or so the main – and unintended — beneficiaries of Schengenland would be people indifferent at best, murderously hostile at worst, to everything we associate with European civilization, could not even be imagined. The idea that masses of non-European “refugees” would be moving around Europe for one and only one goal, to find the country offering the most generous benefits — and the Europeans (see Sweden, for example) have built up elaborate social welfare states — was never foreseen.

This is what is happening in Europe today: the countries of northern Europe, to which the Muslim immigrants aspire because of the greater handouts that await them, are fed up with having to accommodate so many of those Muslim migrants, who have proven to be a great financial burden on the local taxpayers, and a source, too, of social upheaval (such as a staggering rise in the crime rate), and of greater physical insecurity for the indigenous non-Muslims. These northern lands want the removal of internal passport controls to continue, but believe it can work only if the European countries that border on the Muslim south (by sea or land) take their monitoring of those borders seriously, and have the resources to monitor them, because these are now the borders for all of Schengenland. Germany, Austria, and other “northern” members of Schengenland believe that because Italy and Greece are insufficiently able to control their southern borders (the Muslims arrive by sea to southern Italy and, by both sea and overland –mainly through Macedonia — to Greece), their own citizens suffer. The Muslim migrants keep coming: in defensive response, Germany, Austria, and other “northern” states are in essence moving the Schengenland border northward.

Schengenland was supposed to create a Europe-wide zone of free movement of peoples, erasing or effacing unnecessary obstacles such as passport controls at supposedly out-of-date national borders. Had those “peoples” remained “European,” it might have worked. But the squabbling, the chaos, the charges and countercharges among members over the protection of the Schengenland borders, and today’s news that even terminally tolerant Sweden plans to expel 80,000 “refugees” – all this constitutes not the only example of the damage that mass Muslim migration is doing to Europe. It’s just the only one this week.

I don’t think Merkel and her collaborators are “blind”. Merkel was reported in the leftist Guardian newspaper in 2010 publicly admitting ‘the idea of people from different cultural backgrounds living happily “side by side” did not work.’

So why would Merkel import millions of savages who despise non-Muslims and Western civilization, when she admits multiculturalism doesn’t work?

Well, Merkel was Secretary for Agitprop in communist East Germany – a country which considered itself *at war* with West Germany, and Western civilization generally, for *40 years*. Further, East Germany valued Muslims for their anti-Western hatreds, and East Germans trained Islamic terrorists, and committed terrorist acts alongside Islamists. They also *funded neo-Nazi groups* in the West.

Merkel was raised in communist/fascist ideology until the age of 35 when the wall came down. Interestingly, Merkel’s government recently employed ex-Stasi Anetta Kahane to hunt down anyone making anti-Islam comments on Facebook.

The German elites have a history of collaborating with Muslims to help them do their dirty work. They allied with the Ottoman Caliphate in WWI. During WWII the German elites collaborated with the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem to plan a Middle East Holocaust. The East Germans trained Islamic terrorists. And now in the Islamic State era the German elites enthusiastically import Muslim savages en masse.

We know Merkel still loves the anti-West Muslims. We know she refuses to consult the German public before importing *Muslim neo-Nazis* en masse. We know she is changing Germany with enthusiasm, not regret. And this Youtube clip displays Angela Merkel’s bizarre obfuscation about why nothing can be done to stop the Islamification of German – worth seeing if you get the chance:

Many thanks for this Lee. The chief cause of bafflement is indeed, how on earth Merkel could take up such an outrageous and catastrophic policy. I visit German friends in Bavaria every year, and my heart is bleeding for Germany.

We can assume she is not an idiot, but how can one explain her aboutface, as some years back she expressed misgivings about the Turkish immigration into Germany and now she is all for it. What is she up to? In any case, she ought to be kicked out of the government and some sensible folk put in charge of that country which is the richest and the most populated in Europe.

In my view, the reason that Merkel, Obama, Hollande (in France) and other left wing “statesmen” (“stateswoman” in Merkel’s case) (Sarc. as to term- they are garbage-my view) like these Muslim creeps is simple.

THEY VOTE FOR THEM AND OTHER LEFTISTS. It is guessed that Hollande got some 90% of the Muslim vote that elected him. So, screw everyone else- to get the super majority of the group. And increase the size of the group.

@Hugh F.
Great article, Hugh.
But why are/were the leaders of the countries (if you can even call them that now) in the Schengen so tolerant of these (so called) asylum seekers? Do they have no knowledge of what Islam is all about? Do you think they tolerated them to obtain a cheap or (even) slave labor force and this has backfired on them?
Thanks.

Bat Ye’or’s work has demonstrated the creation of “Eurabia” was no accident. The “Alliance of Civilizations” was entered into consciously, for a variety of reasons and under many false assumptions,
and is now bearing its bitter and poisonous fruit in the essentially borderless, defenseless Schengenland.
Getting mugged by reality.

Jack, here’s Hugh Fitzgerald from some years ago on the madness of the “Deux-Rivistes”–of treating civilized Infidel Europe and the barbaric Muslim Mahgreb as no more than “opposite shores” of the Mediterranean:

How can Merkel three years ago say multiculturalism is an utter failure then invite any and all Muslims who can get a foot into Germany to stay and attach themselves as a parasite to German society? It’s schizophrenic.

If Merkel and her ilk are looking to build a one world system, and in order to do that get rid of Christianity which is a huge obstacle to the establishment of that system, what better way to perform the scorched earth policy needed to eradicate any last shreds of Christian influence, that influence that made Europe what it is, than to bring in the Muslim piranha and let them have at it. That’s what’s going on in Europe.

it looks like all of it began in 1995… I think the Muslim migration started long before, towards France and Uk, from the ex colonies. Also condidering that most of foreign fighters of ISIS are also at third generation from France and UK. also in the Balkans, nobody consider the foolish all pro Islam war fought by the west against Serbia.. and it was at the end of the 80s, when the URSS collapsed.

I have mentioned this book before. SOLDIERING FOR PEACE BY OBERMAYER. (UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS PRESS).

Mr. Obermayer ( was a soldier in France, and later Germany, after D Day, and after the war, a journalist; and traveled often to Europe-to help set up newspapers).

He wrote- and going by memory for the number-over 70,000 Muslims in Paris and its suburbs when he was there (1944-45), and they were not bothered by the Germans. (He is quite critical of the French, who were- other then Jews and some hated other groups, apparently left alone by the Germans; and the French seemed to change loyalties as often as most people change their socks).

And, i remember reading years ago, before this ” refugee” crisis that on New Year’s Eve, the Muslims in Paris and some suburbs would burn cars. (Their own or their neighbors) and one year the officials were happy that the number of burned cars was less then expected. I would think that ZERO is the number that should be expected in a civilized country.

robyt – here in the UK this phenomenon started in the late 70’s. I can remember walking around a famous store in Oxford Street and several of these medieval veiled creatures dressed in their garbage bags were pushing around trolleys laiden with clothes. In those days it was a novelty to see them. Fast forward 40 odd years and now this is considered the norm!

This is a huge subject, and although Schengen looks like a mistake now, history shows that European nations would undoubtedly have abandoned those on it’s periphery when islam’s assault took place,

In the same way that Germany ditched Greece in favour of German and French banks, who would have stood by Greece when these ‘migrations’ became forced occupation?

We’ve seen it in Cyprus and parts of what was Yugoslavia and we would surely have seen it repeated again, and each time our self righteous government’s calls to ‘give these migrants the vote’ would have grown louder with the Saudi financial incentives provided.

One by one, a shrinking Europe; jihad by stealth, until who knows what might have remained.

But with Schengen in place, they didn’t bother with the periphery, but drove straight to the heart, and now at least we may get the chance to fight and defend ourselves.

” The idea that masses of non-European “refugees” would be moving around Europe for one and only one goal, to find the country offering the most generous benefits — and the Europeans (see Sweden, for example) have built up elaborate social welfare states — was never foreseen.”

This is what is happening in Europe today: the countries of northern Europe, to which the Muslim immigrants aspire because of the greater handouts that await them, are fed up with having to accommodate so many of those Muslim migrants, who have proven to be a great financial burden on the local taxpayers, and a source, too, of social upheaval (such as a staggering rise in the crime rate), and of greater physical insecurity for the indigenous non-Muslims.

I don’t doubt that most of the population is starting to see things that way. Their chosen leaders, on the other hand…

These northern lands want the removal of internal passport controls to continue, but believe it can work only if the European countries that border on the Muslim south (by sea or land) take their monitoring of those borders seriously, and have the resources to monitor them, because these are now the borders for all of Schengenland. Germany, Austria, and other “northern” members of Schengenland believe that because Italy and Greece are insufficiently able to control their southern borders (the Muslims arrive by sea to southern Italy and, by both sea and overland –mainly through Macedonia — to Greece), their own citizens suffer. The Muslim migrants keep coming: in defensive response, Germany, Austria, and other “northern” states are in essence moving the Schengenland border northward.

Perhaps those northern nations should stop blaming Italians and Greeks and send a few of their own ships and soldiers to patrol the waters and land borders of what’s effectively their borders as well? Not that it would make any difference, as long as the official policy of ships patrolling the Mediterranean is to take in the people trying to enter Europe illegally to Europe rather than forcing them to turn back.

“…no one could have guessed the terrible problem that would arise quite soon, with Muslim migrants making their way to Europe by the hundreds of thousands and exploiting the Schengen system…”

A more FALSE statement would be hard to find.

On the contrary, Bat Ye’or has been ringing the alarm bells and flashing the red lights about the deliberate conspiracy on the part of the elite dictators running the EU to destroy the European population and turn it into a thoroughly Muslim population since 2004, at least.

Speaking of the Anna Lindh Foundation (Euro-Mediterranean Foundation for the Dialogue of Cultures) one of the building blocks of the EU and Eurabia Bat Ye’or said in 2004:

“…the Foundation promotes the vision of a unified Euro-Mediterranean world where people are not even defined as being from the North or the South, (terms considered too provocative as they might evoke visions of a once-Christian North and a very Muslim South). The Euro-Arab continent will instead be populated by an amorphous mass called only “Us,” without acknowledged ethnic, national, or religious features. In reality, Europe is creating a gigantic Muslim community, or “umma,” which is also inhabited by an anonymous (and precipitously dying) European dhimmi population.”

And, as Bat Ye’or explained in “Eurabia” the whole Eurabian project was based, in large part, on the centuries long French dream/nightmare of a superpower empire, lead by France, and encompassing both Europe and large parts of the Muslim world of North Africa along the Southern shore of the Mediterranean, from Syria to Algeria… all of which plans have been public knowledge for decades, at least.

Schengenland was set up for the benefit of the INDIGENOUS EUROPEAN FAMILY…rather than for OPPORTUNISTIC INVADERS, MOOCHERS, SUPREMACISTS, QUEUE-JUMPERS, TERRORISTS and various other ECONOMIC PSEUDO-REFUGEES.

Islam is inherently predatory and conspiratorial. It is no wonder, then, that Muslims want to conspire against Europeans and prey upon them.

AEI: Europe considers suspending the Schengen Agreement by Matt A. Mayer @ohiomatt January 29, 2016 5:00 am
European leaders are debating whether to suspend the Schengen Agreement that allows citizens of European Union members to travel without border controls across Europe. The Schengen Agreement permits a two-year suspension under “exceptional circumstances.” The influx of refugees from the Middle East and North Africa is the exceptional circumstance cited by proponents of suspending the agreement.
As the graphic below indicates, several countries already have instituted border controls aimed at stopping refugees from entering their countries. Many Europeans and their leaders believe their sovereignty and future strength are at risk, especially as the intolerant immigrants exploit the tolerance of citizens. This is pressing, as the expectation is the flow of refugees will increase once the winter ends.

As I’ve written previously, the triple combination of (1) weak to non-existent border controls between Europe and the Middle East, (2) the free movement of people under the Schengen Agreement, and (3) security vulnerabilities in America’s visa programs heighten the likelihood that terrorists will make it to America to carry out deadly attacks, especially when Daesh is known to possess passport production equipment. With the enormous problems faced in securing their borders and monitoring who is coming and going as Daesh explicitly targets Europe, temporarily suspending Schengen seems a wise move. It would give European countries and the US time to strengthen security measures while slowing the influx of refugees.

This current self-induced crisis could’ve been averted by the European elite initiated by the French (it figures) had they not signed onto the 1973 Euro Arab Dialogue. It’s hard to feel sorry for the people of Europe who thought aligning themselves with Islamists was the solution for their anti-American and anti-Israeli hatred. It’s one of the best examples of, “we get the government we deserve”. Unfortunately, the elitist will always have protection against the thugs but the common people have to pay the price for their stupid decisions. We may be going down the same road here with the Leftists in the Obama Administration. Reading Bat Ye’or’s “Eurabia” may help explain this mess in greater detail.

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